Hi, I’m Yukari! My husband, Aric, a talented chef, and I are on a mission to bring people together through the magic of cooking. We want to build a virtual cooking community where we share budget-friendly meal prep tips, host fun challenges, and teach classes beyond recipes—we tell stories of love, life, and even the lessons we learn from our fur babies. Yes, our Bernese Mountain Dog, Senna, the Dish Pit Pup, and our Ginger cat, Ka-En, the Sous Chef Kitten, are part of the journey too! We believe food is more than just fuel—it’s about connection, culture, and creativity. If you enjoy heartwarming stories, engaging Q&As, and cooking made simple, we’d love to have you in our community.🔪🍲 Join us to cook, laugh, and share the love—one meal at a time.
Why Puerto Vallarta Feels Home to Us 🏝️
🇲🇽Hello from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico!Hello Reader, It's Yukari! Quick hello from Puerto Vallarta, Mexico! 🌴 When you read this email, we’ll be soaking up the sunshine in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. 🏡 Our Third Place We call “Home.”People often ask us why Puerto Vallarta means so much to us, so here’s the short version. I was born in Osaka, Japan, and Aric was born in Colorado. Aric moved to Japan and lived there for 7 and a half years. We met at a Mexican pop-up restaurant in Osaka, Japan (yes, really 😄) owned by an American. Years later, while traveling through different cities in Mexico, we fell in love with Puerto Vallarta and made the big decision to live here for over 2.5 years. We returned to Colorado in 2020. COVID played a role, but so did how much we missed the friends and community we’d built back home. Puerto Vallarta became our third home — alongside Japan and Colorado — and it continues to shape how we cook, eat, and live. 🧡 🧊Frozen vs. Fresh: Taste Test Series!AND… we’re kicking off something fun when we’re back in Denver!
Then I’d be blindfolded and decide which tastes better, and give verdict. 🫣 🐹Want to Be A Our Taste Test Guinea Pig?If you live in the Denver Metro area and love food (or are very opinionated about it 😄), we’d love to have you join us for a blind taste test! 👉 Just reply to this email with “Taste Test.” We’ll send details soon! In the meantime, come travel with us ✈️ We’ll be posting behind-the-scenes on Instagram from Puerto Vallarta! |
Yukari Bianchi
Hi, I’m Yukari! My husband, Aric, a talented chef, and I are on a mission to bring people together through the magic of cooking. We want to build a virtual cooking community where we share budget-friendly meal prep tips, host fun challenges, and teach classes beyond recipes—we tell stories of love, life, and even the lessons we learn from our fur babies. Yes, our Bernese Mountain Dog, Senna, the Dish Pit Pup, and our Ginger cat, Ka-En, the Sous Chef Kitten, are part of the journey too! We believe food is more than just fuel—it’s about connection, culture, and creativity. If you enjoy heartwarming stories, engaging Q&As, and cooking made simple, we’d love to have you in our community.🔪🍲 Join us to cook, laugh, and share the love—one meal at a time.
Hello Reader, It's Yukari! Hope you had a fabulous Valentine’s Day weekend. 🧡 Aric and I took a little break from work and had a “date day” we actually love...Pedicures together, happy hour…then he cooked me a full 3-course dinner at home. (Full transparency: this was Aric in chef-mode 😂 Our normal weeknights are much simpler.) How to make staying in feel like a treat (not a chore) We avoided crowded restaurants, loud music, and a prix fixe menu, and traded it for quality time, no...
Traveling, Food, and Connection. Hello Reader, It's Yukari! We’re back from Mexico, and before jumping straight into what’s next, we wanted to pause for a moment. This trip wasn’t about doing everything. It was peaceful, grounding, and full of small moments that stayed with us. 🇲🇽 What Mexico Reminded Us... We surprised our Spanish teacher and his wife by showing up at their school (a little tears were involved 🥹), reunited with a bar owner we’ve known since his 10-seat pop-up days, and...
A Quiet New Year at the Kitchen Table Hello Reader, It's Yukari! We hope your New Year is off to an exciting start!Did you make a New Year’s resolution this year, or did you skip it?No matter what you choose, we hope you reach your goals. We’re cheering you on! Japanese New Year Tradition In Japan, New Year’s food is more than just a meal. Each dish is a wish for the year ahead.There are long-held beliefs about eating a bowl of soba noodles on New Year’s Eve.Soba noodle soup is meant to wish...